Containers of the general type to which this invention relates are usually employed for convenience foods and drinks such as ice cream, french fries and soft drinks. Containers of this type are usually intended for a single use and are then discarded. Although the containers are usually frusto conical in shape, they need not be of that shape. For example, sometimes containers of this type are of a truncated pyramidal shape. For containers of the frusto conical shape, lids of plastic material were provided. These lids were usually made of a material different from the material from which the container as a whole was made and this presented a difficulty from a re-cycling point of view. Typically, the lids had a main panel, a sealing groove and a peripheral flange. To position the lid onto a container it was necessary to press an upper peripheral lip of the container into the sealing groove. This tended to be a progressive process and required the user gradually run his fingers along the groove and press downwardly until the lid was completely in place.
Not only was the process of fitting the lid to the container difficult but the resultant sealed container could not readily be recycled in its entirety because the lid was made from a material different from the material employed for the container.